Posts Tagged ‘Len Bentley’

Hallman's weigh-in garb was conservative compared to his fight shorts (Tracy Lee/See CombatLifestyle.com for full album)

Those who watched UFC 133 witnessed Dennis Hallman (Twitter: @DennisHallman) in the Octagon in a very peculiar choice of fight attire.

And then wondered, Why?

When Hallman met Brian Ebersole in the cage that night, “Superman” was in the throes of an elbow infection that turned out to be serious. He also was sporting a skimpy blue bikini that read “Training Mask” across the crotch, and that was more of a joke.

Hallman lost a bet and wore the bikini bottom. The spectacle was the result of Hallman’s wager with two of his fighters, Len Bentley and Sterling Ford.

“We play Rock Band and make bets and do embarrassing things to each other,” Hallman explained on the show. “If they would’ve lost the bet they would’ve been outside in the yard buck naked washing our goat. We have a goat named Nick the Goat that we named after Nick ‘The Goat’ (Thompson), the fighter. They would have been out there washing the goat. Could you imagine Len Bentley out there buck naked washing a goat?

“In return, I had to wear that embarrassing bikini outfit to a UFC event, which turned out to be epic.”

The epic event had much of the MMA world in an uproar. Hallman’s uncanny act turned fans curious and incited White.

Hallman never intended for humor to backfire to the point that some fans made homophobic remarks and branded him an attention-seeker. His plan merely was to have a little fun, not to upset the spectators or UFC brass.

“You only live for so long, so I try to have as much fun as I can,” Hallman said. “The whole Training Mask thing was all in good fun. It’s a shame people get so upset. ‘You’re a disgrace to the sport!’ I don’t know why everybody has their panties in a bunch. Maybe they never got laid as a kid.

“I’ve just been overwhelmed by all the people that were upset by it.”

Bentley trains under Hallman and was was the first pick on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter show on Spike TV. Watchers of the show saw Bentley never back down from controversy with Brock Lesnar, and the Texan helped find some in winning the bet with Hallman.

As Bentley puts it, you have to be cautious when engaging in a bet with Hallman. The stakes are high, and losing is not pleasant.

In this case Bentley believes the scenario could have been avoided if Hallman used one simple trick.

“We were playing Rock Band, and all I can say is that he should’ve used star power,” Bentley stated. “If we would’ve lost, yes we would’ve had to take a shower with Nick the Goat, naked.”

Verified.

“Anytime you make a wager with Dennis ‘Superman’ Hallman, it’s always worse for you,” Bentley said. ”If you make bets with him you have to be prepared that if you lose, you’re life is over with. His stipulations are always worse than yours.”

Bentley does not understand why White and others got so bent out of shape over Hallman’s fightwear.

“It may be something Dana White doesn’t like; I mean he doesn’t like them because they’re now banned. That’s all fine, but this has caused a bigger uproar than I thought it would.”

Now to the next ponderous question: Why do they own a goat?

The answer is simple. Nick the Goat is cost effective.

“We live in the woods and our grass grows like crazy, the trees, the bushes,” Bentley explained. “So Dennis went and he bought a goat, and it eats the grass. You laugh, but it’s true. You don’t have to buy gasoline or anything, you just tie him up and he’ll eat anything.

“Sterling Ford puts a leash on the goat and takes him on runs.”

Turns out “BikiniGate” has been a mostly hilarious story chock full of turns nobody saw coming. But then there is the matter of the elbow.

Hallman participated in that bout with a septic bursa within the elbow. In layman’s terms, it was an extremely serious infection that came from faulty treatment to an otherwise innocuous injury. By fight time, Hallman was competing with one able arm.

“I had some tenderness in my elbow and some swelling where the bursa sac would be,” Hallman explained. “It got substantially bigger, but still didn’t really affect me. Then I went to see the doctor, and in hindsight the doctor was trying to help, so he stuck a needle in my elbow and tried to drain the fluid out. He thought he should inject some corticosteroids and that would make it heal. All the doctors I’ve seen since then have told me that’s the wrong idea.

“They aren’t anabolic steroids, but steroids to help heal my elbow. Anyways, that’s what the doctor decided to do. I woke up the next morning and it was swollen up twice as bad and it hurt. I contacted the doctor and told him what was going on and he said he was going to do it again because he didn’t put enough corticosteroids in the first time and this time it should work.”

Instead of two days of treatment, it turned out to be 48 hours of introducing infection and aggravating the condition of the joint. Left in the position backing out of the fight so late, which would have almost certainly led to a cancellation for Ebersole, Hallman decided to soldier on.

“I woke up on (fight day) and my arm hurt super bad,” Hallman recalled. ”I couldn’t even bend my elbow to a 90-degree angle. The doctor asked how my elbow was and I told him it’s terrible. He said if it’s that bad he’s going to cancel my fight, so I said it’s fine.

“My corner and I just wrapped it up real tight and changed the game plan to beat this guy as quick as I can. You all saw the fight and how it went down with Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman With One Arm.”

Hallman made no excuses for the setback and gave Ebersole his due for the win.

He made the decision to fight, and will live with the consequences.

“I took the fight, and people don’t want to hear excuses,” Hallman said. “It’s easy to back and say ‘I shouldn’t have fought that fight,’ but we’re fighters. In my brain at that time whether I was injured or not I had the belief that I could beat the guy with one arm. That’s the mentality you need to have to do what we do, but in hindsight it was a dumb idea.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Brian. He came out there and fought his ass off and did what he had to do. Even if I had two good arms he might have been able to fight off the choke and beat me anyways.”

Hallman was still in the hospital at the time he was interviewed on Rear Naked Choke Radio, having gone through surgery earlier that day. He was released Thursday and reported back Saturday that everything with his elbow is expected to be OK.

Hallman demonstrated his loyalty for honoring the wager, showmanship for rocking the bikini and sportsmanship for admitting defeat under unusual circumstances.

The next time he does something controversial it likely will be because he lost a bet. Unless he’s just trying to get your goat.

Rear Naked Choke Radio came at you live on MMADieHards.com from LA Boxing in Paramus, N.J. as Joe Rizzo and Jeremy Fullerton welcomed UFC 131′s Sam Stout and TUF 13′s Len Bentley.

Joe and Jeremy also gave their selections, against the odds, for UFC 131.

Sam takes on Yves Edwards. Len made the announcement of his next fight, his first action since the completion of his time on the UFC/Spike TV reality show.

Rear Naked Choke Radio, with Rizzo and Fullerton, airs live on MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network on Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 PT (unless otherwise noted). If you did not catch the live stream, episodes (including this one) are always available on demand right here.

Punch Drunk Radio on MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network digs deep into The Ultimate Fighter’s 13th season as hosts Pete Sumulong and Cameron Chow break it all down with cast member Len Bentley in his weekly spot.

Pete and Cameron also cover the latest on Chael Sonnen, Brock Lesnar and all the other injuries and changes that have turned the latest string of UFCs into a scramble.

Punch Drunk Radio streams live right here on MMADieHards.com on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 PT. If you do not catch the live stream, listen on demand right here shortly after the live broadcast.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Len Bentley files a weekly blog for MMADieHards.com and appears Thursdays on Punch Drunk Radio on the MMADieHards Radio Network)

For once, this was an episode that was almost all about the fighting, with just about no drama.

The quarterfinal matches happened, with Chris Cope from our Team Lesnar taking on Shamar Bailey, and another teammate, Clay Harvison, going against Ramsey Nijem.

Chris definitely got into Shamar’s head, and it came out a little bit at the beginning of the episode when he said, “Feel like that dude is lurking at every corner.”

Brian Stann came to talk to us. He was right about the comparisons of the military and the top-level fighters in the UFC. I respect his service on a different level than the other guys, because I served overseas as an Infantryman for the Army. I was in Iraq in 2004-05 with the 25th Infantry Brigade Stryker.

When it came to the fights, Ramsey-Clay was first, and only after Ramsey insisted on showing off his stripper side again at weigh-ins.

Ramsey was so good, I almost could not believe it. He got Clay down right away, took the back and then quickly got the rear naked choke. Clay was mad at himself for falling for that move when he knew Ramsey had it locked in his game plan.

If you have been following my blog here on MMADieHards.com this season, you know I was not Chris’ biggest fan. But when he got the decision against Shamar, we all celebrated like kids.

Did Chris win both rounds decisively? Maybe not, but his striking was more effective and Shamar could not get him down.

The other quarterfinals were shown, with Chuck O’Neil against Zach Davis, and Tony Ferguson versus Ryan McGillivray, who got the decision against me. We’re getting close to the finale, and anything can happen.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Len Bentley files a weekly blog for MMADieHards.com and appears Thursdays on Punch Drunk Radio on the MMADieHards Radio Network)

In that house and in the TUF gym, the most important thing is to have the respect of the other people around you.

The way the editors put together Episode 7, it made it look like I was going on and on about not getting picked for the wild card. The thing is, in this game, if you don’t have some balls and stand up for yourself, no one is going to do it for you.

I didn’t hold back anything. I told everyone how I felt right to their face. It might not have been the most pleasant thing to do, but I made the choice and did it.

In the end, the most frustrating thing about all of this was the timing. When I went up to Dana White and he told me that had I said the same thing two hours before then we would not be having this conversation, it felt like a dagger. You have to remember that I had every reason to believe I was just about an automatic pick for one of the wild cards during our talk two hours before. In that discussion I might not have been over the top, but I felt I definitely let him know that my performance stood for more than anything that might have come out of my mouth. I showed it in the Octagon, what more did I have to say?

When the guys were pushing my buttons about the reasons I didn’t get picked, I just used it as motivation to bring it up to Brock Lesnar at the next training session. I wanted to be pissed off about it, because this is my career, and it felt like a big setback. I wanted answers.

I acted like I did not believe Brock, but by then I figured that the concern about my knee was the only thing that was close to making any sense. You heard Brock. However it might have come across, he respected me calling him out about not getting picked.

The way it turned out, feeling vindicated did not mean much. Chuck O’Neil handled Javier Torres, and Javier never deserved the spot. When he got it anyway, he did not make the best of it. Chuck showed he was worthy of it when he beat Javier at his own game and then finished him with a D’Arce choke.

In the mean time, I could not catch a break, as Brock, who almost played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, got beat in a football challenge by a Brazilian, Junior dos Santos. That $1,500 would have come in handy. It might not sound like a ton of money, but when you commit to The Ultimate Fighter, it puts you on the sidelines for a long time, win or lose. The finale is June 4, so that’s about half-a-year where your ability to earn money by fighting is limited.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Len Bentley files a weekly blog for MMADieHards.com and appears Thursdays on Punch Drunk Radio on the MMADieHards Radio Network)

My expectations coming into the TUF 13 house were through the roof.

When Brock Lesnar made me the first pick out of anybody, things were going according to plan. But it all began turning against me when my fight against Ryan McGillivray did not go my way and I did not get that third round to earn the win.

By Episode 6, things were getting ridiculous.

We knew there were four guys left who had not fought, and that meant those fights were going to happen and the wild cards would get picked. You saw me talking to Brock, and it looked like a no-brainer.

One of those wild card spots was mine.

Next thing I knew, I was in pain on the mat when my left knee popped. You’re always thinking it’s the worst, and it sure as hell felt like it. They showed me getting wheeled into the emergency room with Clay Harvison, and somehow we each got the best possible news, considering what happened. My ACL was not torn, but the tendon under my kneecap was stretched out and there were no structural damage. Pain and soreness were not going to keep me from fighting. Clay’s bone had popped through the skin, but it turned out his pinkie was only dislocated. I did not know that was even possible, and it definitely looked gross. A couple of stitches later, he was good to go.

Remember, in this blog for MMADieHards.com I’m only talking about what was going through my head up to what you have seen on Spike. But to this day I still cannot figure out how I did not get one of the wild card spots. They must have thought my injury was a lot worse than it was, because of the simple fact I had to go to the ER. I guess they didn’t like what I said when they brought me in.

The drama on the other team with Junior dos Santos kicking out his assistant coach, Lew Polley, was lost on me. I was sitting there watching my dream of winning this show fall apart when I was right there, in perfect position. In just a few days, I had gone from getting ready for a third round to basically needing someone to get hurt to get me back into it when the whole time I felt like I had earned something better.

Before I learned my fate, my teammate Tony Ferguson scored a sick win over Justin Edwards. In the first round, Tony was on his back and defending in guard. When Justin postured up for a punch, Tony blasted him with an upkick for the knockout. I guess Justin didn’t like getting elbowed in the head.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the next fight was the one that sealed the deal for me. My teammate Chuck O’Neil fought Zach Davis. Like the first fight of the episode, it was up-tempo and exciting, with Chuck nearly hitting a triangle, an armbar and some ground and pound. But then he got caught in a triangle and tapped out to Zach.

Yes, it was an exciting fight, but Chuck got finished. I was entertaining in my fight and mostly everyone agreed I should have been given a third round. When they announced Chuck and Javier Torres as the wild cards, I was completely confused. Chuck was flat-out beaten in the first round by his own move, and when Javier got the chance at the third round I did not get, he failed. To see that Justin would also have been picked ahead of me made it even more perplexing. On top of that, Brock had reassured me, and they made it look like he was even pitching for me to Dana White.

Forget about the look on my face at the announcement and what your saw in the trailer for next week. A part of me was very happy for Chuck to get one of the spots.

But for me, call it what you want: confused, pissed. It was insult to injury.

Punch Drunk Radio with Pete Sumulong and Cameron Chow returned to MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network with Len Bentley’s weekly TUF 13 spot, plus a preview of UFC 129. We also were honored to have a very special guest in hero Pedro Arrigoni, who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor that stopped a criminal that was assaulting a San Francisco Police officer.

The show airs live weekly right here on MMADieHards.com at 8:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 PT. If you did not catch it live, it’s available on demand right here in this post!

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Len Bentley files a weekly blog for MMADieHards.com and appears Thursdays on Punch Drunk Radio on the MMADieHards Radio Network)

Let me start out by saying that I write my blogs according to how I was feeling at that time, on that week’s episode.

It does not reflect my current feelings about anyone. While there is a lot that goes on that is not shown on every episode, I am trying to do my best to tell all of you true MMA DieHards more of the story by explaining my thoughts on what was going on as it happened.

On to Episode 5, which started out again with the ass chewing from Brock Lesnar. They once again showed me stepping out of the room, but this time they added what Brock continued to say. Tony Ferguson told me to come back in, and when I did, Brock said he wanted us to “wow” him, then proceeded to tell me he didn’t see my fight!

That’s why I walked out in the first place.

Brock didn’t even take the time to watch it on tape. When he got back, that’s why I was ticked off. Nobody wants to be called names and criticized about something from someone who didn’t even see it. I mean, if he had watched on tape when he returned from home, I might be more accepting of his ass chewings. I say this with a chuckle, but it makes sense.

Back at the house, I was talking about the situation to Charlie Rader while playing pool with Nordin Asrih. Did everyone see the beautiful 8-ball shot? (Laugh)

Later that night a mystery person wrote “Chris Cope double agent” in the sand box. We are like, “See? We knew!” I mean, if the other team said it, and we didn’t talk to them about it … hmm, that’s weird.

Chris pleaded his case to us, telling us he wasn’t a double agent. We listened and accepted his word, but we were still extra-on-guard about it, especially Clay Harvison. Then we find out Mick Bowman wrote it! He called me a midget, but that’s OK because he meant it as a joke (I think). I’m not that short, am I?

At bedtime, for some random reason Chris accused the most quiet and reserved person on our team of writing it in the sand. I still have no idea where that came from. He totally offended Tony and ticked him off. I really thought Tony was going to hit him.

At fight announcement time, was Clay vs. Mick as the chosen matchup by Junior dos Santos. This appeared to be an exciting match with the potential to be another like mine. Clay talked about how much this fight meant to him and how he was doing for his brother, who passed away, and explained the tattoo on his side. Mick lamented how much he missed his daughter.

At fight time, you could still feel the tension between Junior and Lew Polley, but Junior did a wonderful job keeping Mick’s focus. Both fighters look ready and focused.

Early in Round 1, Clay walked forward and tagged Mick with his hands. Mick got in a few punches but seemed a little gun-shy and ended up on the ground. Mick came close to catching Clay with more than one up-kick and then went for an omoplata, but Clay pulled out of it and told him to get up. Then it was more of Clay walking forward with his strikes.

Round 2 pretty much was the same as the first round, except all on the feet. Early in Round 2, Mick kicked at Clay and hit Clay’s pinkie, leaving him with a compound fracture, meaning the bone was sticking out of Clay’s skin. Being a tough SOB, Clay never showed it in his faces and finished the fight strong, winning a unanimous decision.

Unlike last week, I managed to avoid controversy at the end of this episode. I guess I can sit tight with my nose clean for another week.